Sarah Palin made many errors, both strategic and tactical, in her interview by Charles Gibson. Here are just 10 of them:
1. When asked if she felt ready to become President of the United States, Sarah Palin showed no appreciation of the magnitude of the job. She should have expressed humility. Instead, she talked about her "wiring."
2. When asked about the Bush doctrine, she tried to bluff her way through it. Instead, she should have asked Charles Gibson what he meant. This is not a common term, and a little honesty about her unfamiliarity with it would have been in order. Instead, she showed insecurity about her knowledge of foreign affairs.
3. When Sarah Palin was pressed about "The Bridge to Nowhere," Charles Gibson was gracious and asked if she wanted to revise and extend her remarks. Instead, she stuck to a story that is clearly contradicted by the facts, newspaper articles and even a photograph showing her wearing a sweatshirt supporting the bridge.
4. Another opportunity missed: Sarah was asked about earmarks she supported, such as one to study the mating habits of crabs. She could have acknowledged that the spending was ridiculous; instead, she passed the blame to educational institutions.
5. When asked about support for an Israeli attack on Iran, she repeated the same phrase several times, "Israel has the right to defend itself," instead of engaging in Charles Gibson in a conversation of the matter. This gave the impression of someone studying for a test instead of a mature understanding of the issue.
6. Throughout the interview, Sarah Palin looked nervous and uptight.
7. Sarah Palin called Charles Gibson by his nickname, "Charlie." She should have shown more respect and called him "Mr. Gibson." Her choice of the other moniker seemed an ineffective attempt to curry favor.
8. When Sarah Palin was asked about three things she would change in Bush economic policy, she seemed unable to answer the question. She fudged the answer in a "blizzard of words" and then the items she cited were not real changes.
9. Sarah Palin's attempt to win Hillary Clinton supporters seemed insincere. She should have mentioned some of their policy differences and then, perhaps, noted some Hillary people were supporting her anyway.
10. Sarah Palin failed to enunciate an overall worldview or philosophy. She wasted an opportunity to defend conservative thought in general and show a sophisticated understanding of how her stands on the issues tied together . Given the amount of time she spent preparing for the interview, you would have thought she would have done more than just respond to the questions on an piecemeal issue-by-issue basis.
There's one major theme common to almost all these points. If Sarah Palin had really acted like the normal Mom she claims to be, and not a talented politician, she would have been more honest and she would have been capable of admitting when she was wrong
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- Willy Gissen
- In 2003, Willy Gissen founded Cut-It-Out Communications, a full-service public relations agency based in Hartsdale, New York. His organization specializes in the incorporation of online activities into traditional public relations programs, primarily for business-to-business clients.
These activities include the creation of e-newsletters, the set up and maintenance of internal blogs, and the development of inbound links to maximize a client’s search engine ranking.
See his other articles at public relations instruction, and visit his other blog, New York Times Leader, for an analysis of each morning's lead story.